Why Not The Whole City?

Journal story.....

MIDDLETOWN —
Middletown could require owners of vacant DOWNTOWN buildings to register with the city as a way to ensure upkeep and maintenance.

Officials are concerned that vacant buildings become hazards for first responders, attract vagrancy and hamper economic development efforts for the downtown area.MORE: Owner to make repairs on crumbling Middletown building City Manager Doug Adkins said the proposed ordinance is not targeting any particular buildings in the downtown Urban Central Core District.“The goal is to protect the investment of owners who have renovated their buildings and encourage further renovation and occupation within the district,” Adkins said. “This was initially requested by downtown property owners and DMI (Downtown Middletown Inc.).”Officials said there have been ongoing concerns regarding the upkeep, maintenance and emergency accessibility of vacant buildings in the downtown area.

“Most owners can be reached by the city as needed,” Adkins said. “Some are silent, some work with us regularly, others are not accessible.”
The proposed ordinance includes exemptions to these registration requirements for buildings in active renovation, those that suffer fire damage, and those that are for sale. Failing to comply with any of these standards can result in civil fines of $100 a day for each day the building is non-compliant, and the ability for the city to abate and assess violating properties.The proposed ordinance would require:• Registration of the vacant property• Designation of a local owner or agent to contact• Submission of a plan for the property• Maintaining liability insurance• Maintaining minimum maintenance standards for building In her report, Susan Cohen, city administrative services director, said the increased enforcement costs should be offset by the annual registration fee of $200 for vacant residential buildings and $400 for vacant commercial buildings in the first year.Cohen said the vacant residential fees would double each year, up to $3,200 on the fifth year, and vacant commercial fees would double each year, up to $6,400 for the fifth year. Those building owners who do not pay the annual fee will see those fees assessed to their property taxes at the city’s current interest rate.The legislation has a 10-year sunset period.MORE: ‘Do Not Enter’: A large Hamilton fire underscored the dangers of the area’s aging, empty buildings Denise Brodsky of Hamilton, who works with the SORG Revitalization organization, asked the city council to look carefully at the proposal and make sure it is supportive and not punitive.

Why just the downtown area? Why not apply this to the whole city? What happened to the "rusty gutters"/"paint peeling off houses/garages" thing years ago? Is there still a city truck that drives around looking for dilapidated properties in town? There was at one time, right? Is this still being administered in the residential areas?

Wow,

Looks like there is some tension among downtown property owners and the city with their recent proposal to enforce property maintenance and development......

Latest story in the Journal.....

MIDDLETOWN —
Starting next month, Middletown will have another tool to enforce minor violations or code violations.

Middletown City Council on Tuesday voted 3-2 to adopt a civil penalty notice ordinance that will provide an option aside from forcing violators to appear in court. That will enable any city enforcement officers, such as police, code enforcement or building inspectors, to issue civil penalty notices for violations of about 220 sections of the city’s municipal code.Vice Mayor Talbott Moon and Councilman Steve Bohannon voted against the ordinance. Prior to the vote, Moon had unsuccessfully moved to table the ordinance for additional review.The civil penalty notices could be issued for offenses that would range from minor traffic/pedestrian infractions to not having the appropriate permits, inoperable vehicles, dogs running at large or barking, trees and branches that overhang right of ways.

Those enforcement officers also will have the discretion to give a warning as well as issue civil notices or criminal citations. People who receive these notices will be required to pay a fine or request an administrative hearing to contest the alleged violations, according to the proposed ordinance.

Depending on the infraction, civil penalty fines can range from $50 to $150 and will double if the fines are delinquent, according to the proposed ordinance. However, civil offense violations and criminal charges cannot be filed simultaneously. There are also provisions to have civil fines reduced.
Decisions by the hearing examiner can be appealed to the Butler County Common Pleas Court

Several people said they had concerns about the ordinance’s standards for compliance, due process, constitutionality and training for officers.Resident Joe Wittman called the ordinance an “overreach” and likened it to “applying a tourniquet where a Band-Aid is needed.”

Wittman said he has seen the vacant buildings ordinance “used as a tool of intimidation” by the city.“I doubt this legislation is necessary for the city,” Wittman said. “I believe it is too broadly and vaguely written. It has few checks on centralized power and I fear it will be too easily abused.”His wife, Sue Wittman, expressed concerns that people cited would appear before a hearing officer who would be appointed by the city manager instead of an elected judge. She raised concerns about notices being sent by regular mail.“I have concerns with the direction the city is going in,” she said.Local landlord Dan Tracy said the city already has most of these violations on the books that can already be enforced.“Raise the fines, but we don’t need another ordinance,” he said. “We have these already in place.”

Middletown Municipal Court Judge James Sherron said he understands some of the concerns raised by residents as valid issues and added that he has issues with the executive branch adjudicating violations and possible due process issues.“There’s a lot of tentacles to this octopus,” he said.Sherron told this news outlet that he agreed with “60 to 70 percent” of the ordinance but would have preferred to discuss it with the city administration as the ordinance was developed.

City Manager Doug Adkins said many of the offenses have been on the books for decades and nothing has changed. He said enforcement officers have always had discretion whether to issue a warning or a citation.Adkins, a former city prosecutor, said due process and an appeals process was included in the ordinance and that training for officers has been scheduled this month before the ordinance takes effect on July 4. He also said similar ordinances have been enacted in other Ohio cities and have survived court challenges.The Middletown ordinance is modeled after one used by the city of Cincinnati.“This is stuff that’s been done in other cities,” Adkins said. “No ordinance is a silver bullet. This will be a tool that will affect some people.”

Still wondering why this focuses on the downtown properties and not the entire city as to enforcement. I don't see any problems with holding property owners accountable, no matter where the properties are located, to provide a reasonable amount of upkeep while the property is vacant or for sale. Gotta cut the grass, cut the weeds down, remove trash, remove peeling paint and tack the gutters back up on the structure as well as demolish any structures that are ready to fall down. It is not unreasonable to expect properties in town to be presentable to the public. We can not allow the city to become a visual disaster. We do have our areas of town that are close to that classification now and the city should not allow it to happen. People should want to clean up their mess. If they can't afford to do so, enlist a church group or social agency for help.

"The new ordinance, which starts in 30 days, affects buildings and properties within the Urban Core Central zoning district that encompasses downtown Middletown."